


In You I Bloom

by definekimjongdae (junhyung)



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, F/F, Female Kim Joonmyun | Suho, Female Kim Minseok | Xiumin, Female Zhang Yi Xing | Lay, Gender or Sex Swap, some kind of "stalking" involved but nothing serious, they're all female
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-14
Updated: 2017-06-14
Packaged: 2018-11-13 22:27:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11194728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/junhyung/pseuds/definekimjongdae
Summary: Junyeon tries to confess to the green-haired girl with some kind of flower she doesn't know the name of. Minseo turns out to be a very knowledgeable florist.





	In You I Bloom

Junyeon double-checks that she has locked the front door and the metal gate before stepping down the stairs and onto the pathway. The sun shines down on the alleyway, kissing her skin with warm early morning rays, and the graffiti scribbled all over the walls greet her with bright, welcoming smiles.

She always feels endlessly energetic in the morning, especially in beautiful days like this, but she stops to a halt just before she reaches the turn that will lead her to the main road. The road smells of dew drops and rain from last night. She checks the time on her flip phone. She can already feel her heart pulse faster in her chest, and she swings on the balls of her feet, adjusting the straps of her backpack on her shoulder expectantly.

Junyeon turns the corner and—oh. _Oh_. There she is again.

Junyeon can feel the imaginary butterfly wings that flutter against her skin and the light morning breeze that kisses her cheeks as it blows past, leaving her with a tinge of red on her cheekbones, as she watches the girl with the green ponytails skip past on the other side of the road. Today she's wearing a white t-shirt and a pair of conspicuous red tracksuit pants. It's a hideous combination, something that Junyeon might find hidden at the very back of her brother's closet, but _she_ —she looks no less beautiful with her two elegantly swinging ponytails and her white sneakers as she prances down the sidewalk.

Junyeon steps forward and stops just before she makes to cross the road. It's a Saturday, and she's already five minutes late to her study meetup with Yixue every Saturday morning at the coffee shop several blocks down the road. She looks to her right, toward the general direction of the coffee shop where Yixue has been waiting for her since minutes ago, and to the left, where the girl with the green hair is heading to.

Junyeon nips at her bottom lip a little agitatedly. Why does she have to make such difficult choices so early in the morning?

Junyeon watches the girl with the green hair and the way the sun rays reflect off her radiant skin as she capers down the road, and flicks open her phone. _Will be late_ , she texts Yixue after a brief amount of pondering—so brief that she should probably be concerned about it. Junyeon already feels sorry for making Yixue wait this long, but she'll understand.

The road at this area of the city is relatively empty except for the occasional buses that pass by. Junyeon looks to her left and right before crossing the road with light, determined steps. She breathes out heavily and takes in another large swift of air as she looks up and finds that she's several steps behind the girl who has her back to Junyeon, skipping down the road with her head high up in the air like she's trying to sniff in the fragrant morning air.

She takes two steps forward, and then another, until she's practically trailing after the girl, making sure there's enough distance to not be caught but not more so that she loses her. Goodness, Junyeon _is_ really doing this. It was several weeks ago when Junyeon first caught sight of the girl, her hair left untied to flow down her shoulders. She was beautiful then, and she's beautiful now. Junyeon has never really mustered up the courage to approach the girl and say _something_ now that the crush she has on the girl is getting a bit out of hand, but now that she's finally making a move, she's trying very hard to push down any thoughts that hint even a tiny bit toward stalking. Her stomach churns with unease at how creepy this feels already, but her heart beats lively in her chest and her feet seem to move of their own accord toward the blinding girl with the beautiful green hair.

Her train of thoughts is interrupted when they pass by a cafe, and Junyeon, on impulse, crouches down to pluck a flower off one of the flower beds by the large windows. She has a brief moment to take in its appearance—milky white petals that are tinted a bright yellow toward the middle—and realises too late that it probably looks kind of boring. She doesn't have time to amend her choice of flower, though, as she looks up to find that the girl has put quite a distance between them. Junyeon scurries to lessen the gap.

They walk—or, well, the girl walks and Junyeon trails secretly behind her—for another couple of minutes before she stops to a halt in front of a flower shop. Junyeon stops, too, and the girl proceeds to rummage through her sling bag. She pulls out a key and unlocks the front door, and steps into the flower shop.

A _florist_ , Junyeon realises, and has to fight the urge to swoon.

The strong wave of adoration is swept away as quickly as it washed over her, however, as she remembers the flower she's picked from the cafe just minutes ago. She looks down at it, frowning as she twirls the stalk between her thumb and forefinger, watches with a sinking feeling in her chest as the flower pirouettes innocently in her grip. Junyeon thinks of how dumb she is to expect such ordinary-looking flower to be able to assist her in possibly winning the girl's heart over, let alone the fact that she's a fucking _florist_ who looks so pretty and cute and is definitely very knowledgeable in terms of flowers and their beauty and Junyeon is probably unworthy of having her and—

"Oh," jerks Junyeon from her reverie as she blinks up and finds that the very cause of her daze is standing right in front of her, and holy heavens is she tenfold prettier up close. Junyeon doesn't think anything can sound more beautiful than the whistle of wedding bells, but the girl _giggles_ , and Junyeon has to consider everything all over again. "Excuse me, but I kind of have to," she says, motioning vaguely with arms full of a pot of daisies. Or dahlias. Junyeon isn't so sure.

"I'm sorry," she says hurriedly, stepping aside as to let the girl put the pot in place. Now that she's actually looking, the outdoor area of the shop is filled with a couple of flower pots already. The girl is obviously working, probably busy, definitely doesn't need someone like Junyeon to disturb and bother her and—

"A lovely primrose you've got there," the girl says. Junyeon stares, probably looking like an idiot with her mouth ajar, as the girl tugs a loose strand of hair behind one ear and smiles kindly at her. They've never been this close before—heck, it's probably her first time noticing Junyeon at all—and, standing this close just a few steps away from each other, Junyeon can see the black roots closer to her scalp, and how her bright eyes resemble a cat's in the most enticing way. She has on a pair of squeaky clean white sneakers and the most beautiful pair of eyebrows Junyeon has ever seen. Junyeon is so royally fucked.

"I don't actually know what flower this is," she admits, feeling rather ashamed about it. She braces herself for the disappointment that might form on the girl's face but it never comes, instead finds herself watching in enthrallment as the smile on the girl's face widens brilliantly.

"That's cool," she chirps, shrugging. Junyeon notices that she has an apron on, and that there's a nametag pinned to one side of her chest. _Kim Minseo_ , it reads. Junyeon's heart beats maddeningly fast. "We've just opened for the day. Do you want to come and take a look?"

Minseo guides her inside before Junyeon can say no, but it's not like Junyeon would say no if Minseo did wait for an answer, so it doesn't matter. The interior is clean and neatly organised, with a few buckets filled with flowers and several more empty ones. The shelves by the wall are filled with packets of what Junyeon assumes are seeds. The fragrant smell of flowers invades her nostrils pleasantly. It's very lovely.

"Our flowers are heirloom," Minseo informs her, walking to stand by a workbench with tiny baskets on it filled with ribbons and cutting tools. "We might have some that your boyfriend or girlfriend would like."

Oh. Right. "I don't," Junyeon mutters, "have one." Minseo's hair looks so soft, and even though they're roughly the same height, Junyeon wants so much to hug Minseo in her arms and feel her warmth against her. She wonders how soft Minseo's skin would feel under her fingertips. "This is for you, actually," Junyeon says without much of a thought as she extends the flower to Minseo because Junyeon just _has_ to ruin everything. "Oh, fuck. I mean—" Too late, as Minseo's already accepted the primrose with a bewildered slash shocked look on her face that makes Junyeon's chest twist with regret. Junyeon panics, and with the cool sensation of dread washing over her, blurts out, "I've gotta go," before she sprints out of the flower shop and away, heading straight for the coffee shop that somehow feels so far away today, to meet Yixue and apologise because she's already so late.

 

*

 

"You look absolutely frazzled," is the first thing that Yixue says when Junyeon drops to the chair across from her, still clutching tightly onto the straps of her backpack. Yixue has her Korean literature book open on the circular table, with her notes laid out beside it and a blue highlighter in her grip. Junyeon feels a little sorry for making her wait. She would compliment Yixue on her vocabulary—they _did_ learn the word frazzle just the other week—but she's feeling like too much of a mess for that right now.

"I talked to her," she says instead, reaching out for the untouched glass of vanilla milkshake that Yixue has ordered for her in advance and thankfully taking a huge, refreshing chug from it.

Yixue furrows her brows. "Who?"

Junyeon shrugs her backpack off her shoulders. "The girl with the green hair," she says around a mouthful of straw.

"The— _oh_." The shift of Yixue's facial expression is almost immediate. She looks a lot more invested in the conversation now, a smirk adorning her face and her chin resting on her hand as she looks at Junyeon expectantly. "How did it go?"

"She sells heirloom flowers," Junyeon says, sipping at her milkshake agitatedly.

The crease on Yixue's forehead is back again. "What's an heirloom?"

"She's a florist," Junyeon supplies. She fishes for her pencil case in her backpack and pulls out a black pen.

"Oh," Yixue says, nodding vaguely. Junyeon feels so dumb and embarrassed not even the presence of her best friend and favourite cold beverage is able to provide her enough comfort to wash the bitter feeling away. "I've always thought her hair resembled some kind of moss."

Junyeon frowns. "She sells flowers, Yixue. Mosses are flowerless. That's the exact opposite of flowers." Besides, it's not exactly a _moss_ green. It's more of a turquoise green, but Junyeon can't bring herself to argue, the sweetness of the vanilla milkshake completely useless at washing away the bitter taste that lingers at the back of her throat.

Yixue just shrugs. For the rest of the day, the fresh ache in Junyeon's chest refuses to go away.

 

*

 

Junyeon doesn't see Minseo for the entire weekdays, because school starts at eight and Minseo doesn't usually pass by the area until nine.

Junyeon doesn't see Minseo on Saturday, either, due to obvious reasons, although technically she _can_ —and have done so for the past many Saturdays—if she times it right and steps out of the house right at the approximate moment that Minseo passes by her block.

Junyeon doesn't, though, instead asking Yixue if they can meet half an hour later than their usual meetup time, because Junyeon doesn't think she can face Minseo, not yet. Making a total fool out of herself in front of her crush sounds a lot like what Junyeon would totally do, and _have_ done, it makes her resent herself a little more. She's pretty sure a single glimpse of Minseo, even from afar, will bring back all the dread from the previous week, the apprehension and the embarrassment and the regret. The inescapable encounters with flowers—why are they _everywhere_ —makes it even worse.

Maybe, Junyeon thinks, as Yixue characteristically mispronounces yet another Korean word into something that sounds suspiciously vulgar and the poor waiter that passes by nearly tilts a tray of drinks over when he hears it, that she'll eventually pick herself back up and apologise to Minseo properly, like a decent, self-aware human being.

Hopefully, soon.

 

*

 

Contrary to the promise she's made to herself, though, Junyeon doesn't go to see Minseo again. Not the week after she asked Yixue to push back their meetup, which was last Saturday, and definitely not this Saturday, either, she thinks as she sighs in disappointment at herself and places her empty breakfast bowl in the sink.

It's only half past eight, half an hour too early to go to the coffee shop and she's not even sure if it's open this early in the morning, but Junyeon hefts her backpack onto her shoulders and slips into her shoes, because she's nothing if not a pro at avoiding people.

It's a little cool out today—she's glad to have put on a light cardigan—but the sun shines no less brightly, bathing the pathway and houses with a generous amount of glow as Junyeon steps down the short stairs and onto the pathway. The air is crisp and invigorating against her skin, and she tries not to dwell too much on the thought that she's purposely avoiding Minseo, instead voluntarily making her steps lighter in hopes that it will liven up her mood as she makes her way down the alleyway and makes to turn the corner—

"Oh!" Junyeon startles herself when she turns the corner and nearly bumps into someone. She blinks. She can feel the sudden, rapid plummeting of her heart down to her stomach and groin and feet all in less than a fraction of a second, liquefying as it does so and oozing out of the tip of her toes and into the ground below to leave her forever.

"Hey," Minseo says, pushing herself off from the wall right around the corner. Junyeon can see the main road ahead of them, still fairly empty at so early in a Saturday morning. Minseo is smiling sweetly at her, but it is small, and maybe kind of sad. Junyeon feels she kind of, mostly, very much, has everything to do with that.

"Oh," she says, at a total lost of words because this was indeed what Junyeon promised herself to do—walk up to Minseo and fucking apologise for being so weird and borderline creepy—but this is also kind of what she's been trying to avoid. It feels a little too chilly suddenly, and a bit too warm where the sun shines at the top of her head and on one side of her entire body, and Junyeon can't think straight. "How did you know where I live?" Oh, there she goes. Freaking _again_. Just how many times is she trying to fuck things up?

The subtle blush that creeps up Minseo's neck to rest on her cheeks is certainly what Junyeon wasn't expecting. "I'm really sorry. I'm not trying to stalk you or anything but I see you walk out of this alley every Saturdays and—oh, god, I'm sorry for being a creep, I—"

"I am, too," Junyeon blurts out, stopping Minseo's rambling mouth as Minseo's eyes widen in surprise. "I followed you to the flower shop on purpose, the other day." _That_ day, Junyeon's brain supplies unhelpfully. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to stalk you or anything—"

"Well, then," Minseo says, the smile back on her face, "I guess we're even." It looks shy, now, and Junyeon feels a weird wave of what feels a lot like relief as she stares back at Minseo and takes her words in.

"Oh," she says, dumbly.

Minseo just smiles, kindly. She's really pretty, even more so now that she has her hair down. The loose strands are pinned to the sides of her head with plain, colourful hairpins. Junyeon hasn't noticed.

"I'm Minseo," Minseo says, catching Junyeon off-guard. She pushes down the urge to blurt out _I know_ as Minseo sways lightly on the balls of her feet, regarding Junyeon with soft, curious eyes. "What's your name?"

Junyeon feels like she may have grown a second heart to replace the one that has just left her moments ago. This one _definitely_ feels brand new; it's beating crazy fast, like it's so excited about pumping blood for the very first time and wants to do it for the rest of its life. She's surprised it hasn't broken out of her ribs and propelled upward using only the speed of its rapid beating to drive itself into the clouds.

Minseo has on a blue sweater today, the collar covering up to her neck and the hem of the arms covering her up to the hands so that only the tip of her fingers are peeking out. She looks so soft. Junyeon wants to touch and caress and maybe curl into her arms, too. She gulps down a whimper and says instead, "Junyeon."

The smile that forms on Minseo's face is worth a thousand blooming flowers. Her lips look so soft, even softer than how her outfit makes her look, and Junyeon, of course, has the extremely unnecessary urge to touch it, too. She can only hope her face doesn't give it away.

"Junyeon. That's a very pretty name."

Jesus, Junyeon would say it makes her weak on the knees, but, really, it makes her weak _everywhere_.

"I'm still sorry. About the flower, too," Junyeon says, trying to divert the topic as she feels her cheeks heat at an alarming rate.

"I don't know," Minseo says, shrugging lightly. "I quite liked the primrose."

"Oh," Junyeon says, yet again. It's not her fault Minseo has this effect of rendering her speechless, at the most inconvenient of times.

"Junyeon, do you know what meaning primroses hold?" Minseo asks, looking at Junyeon through her lashes that aren't impressively long or thick but adorns her beautiful round eyes nonetheless.

Junyeon doesn't know the meaning of a primrose. Junyeon doesn't, in fact, know the meaning of a lot of flowers, if not _all_ flowers. The one thing she surely knows, though, is that Minseo really needs to stop looking so pretty and nice and delectable if she doesn't want Junyeon latching onto her and pressing their lips together anytime soon.

"It resembles young love. 'I can't live without you,' that sort of thing," Minseo says, her cheeks tinted a pretty pink and her silky green hair gleaming under the morning sun. Shit, Junyeon didn't know it meant _that_.

"I—"

"You know, it's small. And plain, and simple, but it's modest, too. I think it's a lovely little thing," she says, smiling sweetly, and Junyeon thinks _MInseo_ is an even lovelier little thing.

Junyeon realises she hasn't noticed how much she missed Minseo the whole two weeks she's been avoiding her. It might have only been a crush, and it might still only be a crush now, but Junyeon knows that it has _grown_ , and that there's a sure part of her that yearns for Minseo, even if there is the likelihood that Minseo doesn't want her back. And Junyeon, despite all her clumsiness and occasional fear to take chances, tries to hold onto that _likelihood_ and not the certainty, that Minseo won't ever feel the same way back.

"Then, perhaps," Junyeon says, thumbing at the strap of her backpack as she braves through the apprehension and fear and a probable rejection, "I chose the right flower. I think you're a lovely little thing." There. There it is, out in the open, free and defenseless against any kind of judgment that Minseo might use to crush it to pieces.

There's the subtle widening of Minseo's eyes, and then she's biting into her bottom lip, smiling rather bashfully and chuckling softly. "Do you have anywhere to be?"

"Not until nine." Junyeon doesn't know if that was a _yes_ , or if it was an answer at all. Then again, Junyeon never did ask anything verbally herself. Being straightforward has never been her forte.

Minseo hums. Junyeon's breath hitches when Minseo inches one step closer. "Can I hold your hand?" she asks, holding one hand open and looking at Junyeon expectantly.

Junyeon still can't bring herself to believe that this is happening. Her entire being is buzzing with elation and adoration and she has to stop herself from pinching at her own skin to make sure that this isn't a fucking dream because it feels too surreal to happen. Except when Junyeon says, "Yeah," the touch of Minseo's hand and the warmth that it brings as she wraps her hand around Junyeon's is _real_.

It hasn't even been a second but Junyeon already likes holding Minseo's hand. It's not exactly smooth, but it's warm, and it feels _right_ , above it all. The hem of Minseo's sweater brushes against Junyeon's fingers and the back of her hand. It's soft. Minseo turns and pulls them toward the main road. Junyeon follows suit, easily falling into step as she takes her place beside Minseo so they walk side by side, hand in hand.

Overhead, the sun shines brightly, illuminating the whole area with its brilliant rays. The air is cool, but Junyeon's hand, wrapped around Minseo's, is warm. Her heart feels warmer.

 

*

 

"You're early, for once," Yixue says in lieu of a proper greeting as Junyeon drops to the seat across from her, one hand gripping at the strap of her backpack and the other clasping a neatly wrapped stalk of tulip. "Oh! Is that for me?" Yixue asks, a surprised look on her face as she eyes the flower with apparent hope.

"It's for _me_ ," Junyeon says, placing it carefully on the circular table as she shrugs her backpack off her shoulders. Yixue hasn't ordered for her, so she makes to stand up, but the frown on Yixue's face halts her action.

"From who?" she asks, a genuine look of curiosity on her face as she blinks up at Junyeon. Junyeon just gives her a look, a _very_ long one, before Yixue seems to get it, as her brows rise and her eyes widen and her mouth falls open as she makes a sound of comprehension. It's adorable and hilarious at the same time. She rests her chin on the palm of her hand and smirks smugly. "Looks like moss lady knows how to woo."

"I'd already liked her," Junyeon says. Sometimes she feels like she'll get tired of Yixue's antics eventually, but most times she just feels like Yixue really is the friend she never knew she needed. "It's not like she made me fall for her."

They'd walked to the flower shop together, Junyeon and Minseo, and then they'd talked, a bit, as Minseo pottered around the space, pulling out a stalk of red tulip and a plain brown craft paper and some tools and laying them out on the workbench. Junyeon sits herself on a stool and watches as Minseo does her thing and looks so much at home, with her face highlighted by the stray sunrays that filter through the windows as she works to wrap the paper around the red tulip.

"Tulips can mean very different things based on their colour," Minseo had said when Junyeon had asked about the meanings that tulips held. "But it's one of my favourite flowers. I guess, meanings don't always have to matter. I like it. I like you, too."

And then they'd bid each other goodbye, because Minseo had to work and Junyeon had Yixue to help study, but not before Minseo gave Junyeon a sweet peck on one corner of her mouth. It was light, a mere brush of skin to skin, but it was _something_ , and Junyeon held it close to her heart knowing for sure that her feelings had been reciprocated.

"It means a declaration of love," Yixue says when Junyeon gets back with her drink.

"What?" Junyeon asks, distractedly.

"The red tulip," Yixue clarifies, her textbook under one palm open to the page that bears an excerpt from The Story of Hong Gildong and her other hand holding her phone that's displaying a certain webpage. "It resembles a declaration of love."

Love, Junyeon thinks, is a very deep word. Minseo has never even hinted at this—them—being _love_ , but Junyeon thinks, as she sips at her vanilla milkshake and thumbs at the brown paper wrapped neatly around the single stalk of red tulip and feels a wave of adoration spread in her chest, they're well on their way.

**Author's Note:**

> 1\. minseo presses the primrose and laminates it so it lasts forever.
> 
> 2\. junyeon tries to keep the tulip alive by putting it in a tall glass filled with water.
> 
> 3\. one month into their relationship junyeon introduces minseo to yixue. yixue tells junyeon that minseo is, indeed, too nice and pretty to be called a moss and proceeds to save her number under Flowering Moss ❀ in her contacts. (jn: "????? but yixue there is no such thing as a flowering moss" yx: "shut up it's an upgrade")
> 
> 4\. junyeon's preserving method predictably fails and the tulip withers and dies but it's ok bc she gets to see minseo every other day anyway and she's a thousand times better than any flower in existence.
> 
>  
> 
> minseo's outfit inspirations bc why not: [green hair from cbx's hey! mama](http://cfile7.uf.tistory.com/image/225EA93958162AD402AC5C) / [the hairpins from cbx's the one](http://cfile29.uf.tistory.com/image/2745E04258201EDD0E31BD) / [her first outfit from cbx's the one](http://cfile28.uf.tistory.com/image/21515240582039181BD335) / [the blue sweater from this clip](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6JKvOXqeRA).


End file.
